Mini Deep Dish Pizza

Can you believe it? I'm back! I make no guarantees as to how long I'll be back posting recipes, but the scare I just had about losing everything jump started me to get blogging again!

So, this is a recipe I found on Pinterest a while back (from the website Dashing Dish) and I loved it. It was so quick and easy and I really liked it. I have to admit that my husband thought they were a good snack, so I guess they weren't very filling to him, but I thought they were delicious!

So here's what you'll need:

• 3-4 whole wheat wraps- I found mine on clearance at Wal-Mart!
• 1 (15oz) can pizza sauce (you may have some left over, depending on how much sauce you like)
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 48 mini pepperonis (I used regular sized pepperoni but just cut them up into 4 pieces each)
• 1 tsp basil/oregano mix OR Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• pinch of sweetener, (sugar/stevia/splenda)
• pinch of black pepper

 So take a whole wheat wrap and your round cookie cutter and cut out circles that will press down into your muffin tins... (See the pictures below)

 Spray your muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray before pressing the wrap down into each one!

 Next, take your pizza sauce, spices and parmesan cheese and mix it all together.

 Spoon a little sauce into each wrap, and then top with cheeses and pepperoni.

 Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes. When they come out let them sit for a few minutes just to cool a little. Then take a knife and cut around each one. They just need a little help releasing from the pan where the cheese has cooked onto it. Pop out and serve them up!! Enjoy!

Grilled cheese revamped

I don't even want to call this a recipe, but I just have to share my latest quick lunch. I was looking in the refrigerator for something quick to make for lunch the other day and saw some leftover spaghetti sauce and I had a memory from my teenage years. My mom used to make grilled cheese sandwiches in our sandwich maker (This is a sandwich maker... Looks like a waffle maker)

I love our sandwich maker because I love grilled cheese sandwiches, but hate getting a pan out and waiting for it to brown perfectly... because, I can never get it to brown perfectly and I always end up with one side burned... or both sides not really done and the cheese not even melted.. I can never find the happy medium. But... with the sandwich maker, it grills it perfectly for you and seals the edges nicely.

So... back to the memory I had. I saw the spaghetti sauce and remembered my older brother adding spaghetti sauce to his grilled cheese sandwich before putting it in the sandwich maker. The other day I added pepperoni and made it a pepperoni pizza sandwich. My husband likes to add some deli sliced ham and olives. You can really put in anything you want! And it makes for such a really quick lunch.

I've recently fallen in love with the Bountiful Baskets bread. It is so delicious. The only problem is... Its a little too small for the sandwich maker and my cheese always runs all over...Here's my sandwich that I had for lunch. I ended up having to eat it with a fork because the cheese was EVERYWHERE!

But it was delicious!

Crispy Flatbread Pizza

CONFESSION: I have been married 5 years(in May) and have NEVER made a homemade pizza that we actually liked.

Anytime I make a normal pizza crust recipe it comes out too "bready" and not enough pizza.

So the other day when the husband told me he really wanted pizza for dinner, I was a bit worried. But... not to worry, Lick the Bowl Good always has something helpful. And sure enough, she had a great flatbread recipe. I cannot emphasize how yummy it was- SERIOUSLY. I think homemade pizza might become a regular now because this was so good!
1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 cups flour, plus a little more for rolling
3/4 cup warm water
2 tsp. chopped rosemary (this gives it the best taste!)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
pizza sauce
pizza toppings of your choice (we used pepperoni, chicken, bacon bits, TONS of tomatoes and Colby jack and mozzarella cheeses)

In a large bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup of flour. Stir in 1/4 cup of the warm water and let stand until slightly foamy, or about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, salt, pepper and the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour and 1/2 cup of water. Stir until a dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Transfer the dough into and oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a draft-free spot until billowy and doubled in bulk (about an hour) **** Confession**** I didn't let mine rise for that long... We were too hungry. 40 minutes and it was just fine. Not quite billowy or doubled in bulk, but oh well!

Preheat oven to 450. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press and stretch the dough into a 13 inch round or 3 individual size pizzas. Then move them onto your cooking pan. *** She recommended preheating the baking stone, but my baking stone got ruined and I don't have another one. So I just used a regular cooking pan and it worked just fine!***

There are two ways to cook this:
The way Lick the Bowl Good recommends it:
Bake the dough for 8-10 minutes until the crust is lightly golden. Place your sauce and desired pizza toppings on it then cook until cheese melts and toppings are warmed through

OR, the way I did it:I just put my toppings right onto my uncooked pizza dough and cooked it for 12-13 minutes in the 450 oven. I thought it was delicious and although she precooks her dough, I didn't think it needed it. I think precooking it would just make it crispier, so it just depends on how you want your crust to taste!

Good luck and I hope your pizza-making endeavors are just as delicious!

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Pizza

This is another one of those recipes I got from my sister. Most of my yummiest recipes come from siblings... They are just great cooks! I think this recipe is pretty fool-proof! You can put just about anything you want inside and it will be so yummy! Josh and I were both saying, "Mmm"... as we ate last night!

I used the recipe for a pizza crust from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and since it said that it would make 2 thin crust pizzas I figured it would be perfect... and it was!

Dough Ingredients:
2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups flour (I meant to use 50/50 white/wheat... but I forgot!
1 package active dry yeast (which is equivalent to about 2 1/4 tsp)
1 cup warm water
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

DIRECTIONS: In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups of flour, the yeast and 1/4 tsp. salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough out onto a slightly floured surface and knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (I used almost, but not quite 3 cups total). Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other. Cover and let rise for 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes, roll out the larger ball onto your baking stone and cook for about 10 minutes in a 400 oven. Don't fully cook the crust, but just get it so its mostly cooked. I had to keep popping bubbles... so keep an eye on it! Pull it out of the oven and brush with oil and some seasonings (I used Italian seasoning, pizza seasoning, and basil.. I think some garlic would also be yummy, but I didn't use it!)Alright... Now for the filling. This really is one of those things that you can put in it whatever you want. I think some sauteed peppers would be delish (but Josh isn't a fan)... Mushrooms, onions, tomatoes... whatever you want!!This is what I did: Spread cottage cheese over crust (try to avoid as much of the "Juices" of the cottage cheese if you can... they just run out of the crust when its cooking..). Cover with chopped spinach (you can use fresh or frozen, just make sure that your frozen is pretty dry). I had my cooked frozen chicken, so I added that too, but this is usually made completely meatless... so if you don't have chicken, don't stress! Cover with cheeses... whatever cheeses you have. I had Parmesan, mozzarella, pepper jack and cheddar cheese and it was delish!
Roll out 2nd ball of dough into a thin crust (I find that it is easiest to brush my counter with a little bit of oil and roll my dough out onto that instead of a floured surface... I think it lifts up better!) Then place 2nd crust over the top and try to completely cover the toppings. I had to really stretch mine... and my pizza leaked all over.
Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven. I found that mine took closer to 15-18 minutes. Just watch it until it is starting to brown on top and feels like the crust is done.We loved this last night and I've decided to make it a more usual part of my dinner rotation. It is SO yummy! I know you're going to love it. My sister has 5 kids who all LOVE this, even though it has the spinach in it. So good! Try it... I know you'll love it!